Transforming Challenges into Growth and Success
One of the biggest gifts the pandemic gave me over the past year was the opportunity to strengthen my mental fitness, i.e., my ability to respond to life’s challenges with a more positive than negative mindset.
There were so many things that didn’t go as planned, things I thought I needed to go a certain way in order to be happy. I was wrong.
It turns out the right mindset goes a long way.
What helped me the most was learning how to tap into my Sage Perspective, as coined by Shirzad Chamine, and frequently ask myself “How can I make this into a gift or opportunity?”
We often buy into the lie that we need a particular “X” outcome in order to be happy, like a particular promotion, training or job, etc. And when we don’t get it, our stress levels skyrocket.
Some of us channel that stress into achieving our goal, are miserable along the way and feel jipped when we finally achieve our goal because it doesn’t feel so good. But most of us flounder under the stress and reduce the chances of ever manifesting our “X” outcome.
But what if instead we practice thinking that outcome “X” will be awesome AND the opposite outcome “Y” will be great too because we’ll convert it into a gift or opportunity if it happens instead? Then what’s there to fear?
What happens to your stress level? It goes down because you know you’ve got this either way.
You can cultivate more of an attitude of “let’s bring it on!” Let’s have some fun. And passionately go for the win. Life becomes a fun game. You enjoy the journey along the way more.
And paradoxically, as you stop freaking out, the more likely you’ll succeed at the outcome.
Cultivating the Sage Perspective is easier said than done when the shit hits the fan. I get it. It’s tough to exercise this mental muscle on big things like losing a job, getting COVID or losing a loved one.
But just like when you go to the gym for the first time you don’t start bench pressing 200 lbs right off the bat. You start low and work your way up!
Start with 5 and 10 lbs mental weights like your neighbors barking dogs and annoying work colleagues. Leave the extreme cases aside for now.
Here are three tips to get you started tapping into the sage perspective and turning your challenge into an opportunity now or down the road. Look for the following three gifts:
The Gift of Knowledge: What knowledge can you gain from this experience that will serve you in a much greater way in the future? What lesson have you learned that will amplify your impact tenfold down the road?
The Gift of Power: See the problem as a “weight” in a gym against which your mental muscles can grow. Which mental muscle/power must you grow to handle this situation in a productive way? How will this make you a better version of yourself? (Examples: Empathy, compassion, patience, exploration, innovation, navigation, activation, etc.).
The Gift of Inspiration: Commit to an inspiring action that you wouldn’t have done if the “bad” thing hadn’t happened. This action becomes a gift.
Is there something in your life that is causing you a lot of stress now? Can you think of three ways you could turn it into a gift or opportunity now or in the future?
Need some helping tapping into your sage perspective on something? Reach out to me. I'd love to support you.
#mentalfitness